Friday, January 8, 2010

An American Journal In the 21st Century - Thursday, January 7, 2010

We are awakening to find ourselves in a topsy-turvy world. Each new day, starting before the election in the fall of 2008, we have seen actions by government officials which not only anger and frustrate us but are hard to comprehend. Their actions cause us to say things like, "What are they thinking?" or "How can they think that will possibly work?" and "It just doesn't make sense."

I am convinced that our officials are intelligent people; they are not stupid. I am also convinced that they believe that their actions will bring about a better America; they are not suicidal. So if they are not stupid and they are not suicidal, why are they convinced that their actions will "fundamentally transform America" into a better place, while many of us believe they are destroying the America that we know? Why are they convinced that their actions will solve our problems and we believe that their actions are irrational?

Worldview.

I am not a conspiracy theorist. I am not convinced that there is a secret group of individuals using well-known-faces as puppets to "take over the world." It is possible, but not very probable; there's always a snitch that squeals and the plot is revealed, or a deathbed confession, or memoirs that are published after someone's death.

What IS possible (and, in fact, irrefutably true) is that everyone has a worldview; a fundamental way that a person sees the world and how it works, or how it should work.

For years in America, the predominate worldview was biblically based. In fact, America was founded on a God-centered worldview: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

But there are competing worldviews in America, including Progressivism. A person with a Progressive worldview typically believes in economic and social justice. Economic justice, for Progressives, means that we should take from those who have too much and give it to those who have too little. (Who will decide what is too much and too little?) Social justice, for progressives, means promoting policies that say that a woman has a right to her own body (as well as to the life or death of the one in her womb). Social justice also asserts policies that say there are all kinds of families (meaning straight families and gay families) and that they need to be recognized and celebrated equally.

What we are awakening to is the reality that many of those who wield political and social power in this nation subscribe to a Progressive worldview. And, just like one who rubs the sleep out of his eyes in the morning to make his surroundings clearer, the picture that is becoming clear to us is that a Progressive worldview is contrary to a God-centered worldview and contrary to the worldview that founded this nation.

Again, I am not a conspiracy theorist; I don't believe there is a grand "master-planner" who seeks to dominate the world . . . at least, not one that is human. And I don't believe this is a Republican or Democrat plot. What IS happening, from my perspective, is that many individuals, regardless of party affiliation, all wielding considerable political and social power, and all with a similar Progressive worldview, are now in a position to make decisions and establish policies that "fundamentally change America" and make it the "way it should be." In fact, Progressives from both major parties, beginning with Republican President Teddy Roosevelt and continuing down through our current President, have been making decisions based on this worldview for more than 100 years.

I also believe that, if the recent decisions and policies of Progressives are allowed to take place and mature, we will witness the greatest crisis this nation has faced since the Civil War. If we do not change our course, we will wake up in a society that is not only frustrating and confusing, but unrecognizable as the nation that was founded nearly 234 years ago. In essence, we will suddenly become citizens of a very different nation - immigrants in our own country.

If we fail to act, we will witness what one Progressive hero called, "Act II of the American Revolution." This Progressive hero was the subject of our current Secretary of State's senior thesis when she was attending Wellesley College. Our President valued the thoughts and ideas of this Progressive hero so much that he taught a course promoting his hero's philosophy and worldview. And on December 23, 2009 an MSNBC's news anchor, while interviewing the only socialist Senator in the US, affirmed that Saul Alinsky, the Progressive that penned the quote above, was one of his heroes as well.

Why should you care?

Saul Alinsky's worldview is clearly articulated in his most popular book, Rules for Radicals. As I read it, I was shocked that this worldview was admired and emulated by some of the most powerful people in our nation's capitol. On the page following the dedication, Alinsky praised "the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom - Lucifer." On the final pages of this book, he calls for "Act II of the American Revolution" and likens it to the "revolution of the soul."

On the pages between these bookend quotes, Alinsky makes statements like these: "[A person] should ask of ends only whether they are achievable and worth the cost; and of means, only whether they will work." "He who sacrifices the mass good for his personal conscience has a peculiar conception of 'personal salvation'; he doesn't care enough for the people to be 'corrupted' for them." "The third rule of ethics of means and ends is that in war, the ends justifies almost any means." "Ethical standards must be elastic to stretch with the times." "Reviewing and selecting available means is done on a straight utilitarian basis - will it work?"

In short, many of our political and societal leaders revere a man who said, in essence, that when it comes to political power there are no morals. Many of the current influencers in our society are agnostic or simply religious in name only. They do not believe that there are unalienable Rights given to us by a Creator; they believe that rights are given and taken away by those who have the political power and the will to do so. If they proceed, unchecked, they will succeed in "fundamentally transforming America" by re-laying a foundation for our nation; one without a Creator, with a less restrictive Constitution, and a more powerful centralized federal government that does not have a moral compass.

What can you do? Here are four ideas. If you have more ideas, please send them to me so that I can pass them along in future journal entries.

1. You can pass this journal entry on. It is the first of many. Hopefully it will educate and stimulate a good and noble people to action; the very same people described in the constitution as "We the People . . ." You are free to make copies and distribute them by hand or 'snail-mail.' Please make sure that the last paragraph of this journal is included with your copies so that individuals can contact me with comments or questions.

If you forward this in e-mail form, please remove the "FW:" from the subject line. Many people delete Email Forwards without even opening them up. Also, take the time to e-mail it to one or two individuals at a time. You are encouraged to send this to everyone in your contact list, but many spam filters block emails that contain too many addresses in the "To:" box.

2. You can write or call the offices of your Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen. How can you pay for the phone charges and postage? You could pay for the calls by dinning out one less time a month. How can you find the time to write? You could find the time by sacrificing one of the TV shows or movies or video games that consume a good portion of our lives.

And don't stop with just one phone call and one letter or email. Contact your representatives weekly or twice a month. At the very least, your representative will know that you are watching.

3. Organize a trip to your representative's office (local or in Washington D.C.). By carpooling you can share the expense while making a stronger impact by arriving in greater numbers. By the way, if you haven't done so already, you should make at least one trip to D.C. in your lifetime. Go to the memorials; read the inscriptions on the walls; examine the statues and paintings. You will discover a strong Godly heritage, clearly on display and quite possibly forgotten by your representative.

4. If you are a person of faith, pray. Pray fervently for your nation and for her leaders. Pray daily or hourly. Pray for a good and noble people to wake up and take action. Pray also for those who wish to reshape America in a Progressive image - pray for their safety and protection, but pray that their efforts will be thwarted.

My name is Curtis Ferrell, and this is An American Journal In The 21st Century. You can contact me at curtisferrell1962@gmail.com . If you do not wish to receive these journal postings, please email me so that I can remove you from my contact list or click here: Remove

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Thanks for reading!

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